Saint Eden Academy prided itself on its frightening grading efficiency.
The schoolwide unified exams had taken place on Wednesday morning — yet by the time the second period ended on Friday, the results were already announced to every student and teacher on campus.
At an ordinary school, say, the kind Sakurajima City usually had, the homeroom teacher would tally up everyone's grades and quietly hand them out before or after class. That way, students embarrassed by their scores could discreetly tuck them away, saving their pride from public display.
Saint Eden Academy, however, was not nearly so gentle.
Here, the faculty believed that protecting self-esteem only bred weakness. Instead, they favored discipline through humiliation — a philosophy they phrased as "awakening courage through shame." So, their method was simple: post the entire list of exam results directly on the hallway bulletin board for all to see.
Not only that — the list was obsessively detailed. It included each student's total score and year-wide ranking, their individual subject scores and ranks, and even comparative averages. Everything was laid out in immaculate columns, nothing hidden.
To make it easier for students to find themselves — or to look up others — the results were divided by class.
For first-year students like Hara Kei, there were six classes, from A through F. Six neatly printed charts went up on the wall accordingly.
To the right of those, the school added an extra-large sheet of paper — with the font doubled in size — listing the top ten scorers in the entire year. This, naturally, drew the most attention.
This entire approach embodied Saint Eden Academy's core philosophy in a single, merciless phrase:
Merit above all.
Though the academy constantly preached about "holistic development" and "joyful education," the truth was clear. The conglomerates and government officials funding the school all quietly agreed with one unspoken law — results are everything.
And so, the atmosphere inside Saint Eden was fiercely competitive. Students obsessed over their grades, because academic performance was directly tied to their allowances… and even to how comfortably they lived at home.
Of course, rivalry among peers only fueled the fire.
Only a handful of students — like Tōma Kazusa, who already had a clear path ahead and parents too indifferent to care — could afford to throw everything to the wind.
From the first self-study session that morning, the tension in Class 1-A was practically tangible. As the hours went on, the atmosphere only grew more restless.
By the second period — math class — the air was buzzing. Their teacher, who was notorious for dragging lessons long past the bell, noticed the agitation and, in a rare show of mercy, dismissed them exactly on time.
He hadn't even packed his notes before the entire classroom emptied out in a flash, leaving only a few stragglers behind — scattered like a handful of kittens left in a box.
Among those few… he caught sight of one particular boy.
The teacher's gaze lingered on Hara Kei, who sat gazing absently out the window at the clear blue sky, completely untouched by the feverish commotion surrounding exam results.
Such composure at his age… the teacher thought, sighing in quiet admiration. Remembering this student's terrifyingly high scores, he couldn't help but mutter, "Youth truly is something to behold."
The teachers of Class 1-A had always had mixed feelings about Hara Kei. To them, he was too aloof, too detached, unwilling to mingle with classmates. Many had even planned to lecture him once the midterm results came out — assuming, of course, that his grades would finally dip.
But when the results were released, all their plans were rendered meaningless.
Sakurajima — and by extension, the country at large — worshiped strength. In simple terms: if you're better than everyone else, you're always right.
Now that Hara Kei stood at the top, no one dared call him arrogant. Instead, they began to say things like, "Geniuses are meant to be lonely."
Such was the logic of a society obsessed with power.
The math teacher sighed once more, quietly packed up his materials, and left the room.
Hara Kei, of course, had no idea that his performance had shifted the entire faculty's opinion of him. Not that he cared.
As he stared out the window, his mind was elsewhere.
So… the first midterm is over.
That meant one thing — the calm, uneventful beginner period was officially behind him.
In the game Saint Eden Academy, as it existed in his previous life, the stretch from entrance to the first midterm was known among players as the "newbie protection phase." It was the time the developers, and later the modders, had intentionally left quiet so new players could get used to the system.
During that phase, nothing major ever happened — just slow, steady stat-building.
But after the first midterm, things changed. From then on, major events — the story arcs that shaped the game's endings — began to unfold. Unlike ordinary encounters, these events directly determined which route and ending the player would get.
And because there were so many custom event mods, the Perfect Integration Edition that Hara Kei had played used a randomization system. Each playthrough drew events from a massive database, ensuring that no two runs were ever the same. It was thrilling… when it was just a game.
But now that the game had become his reality, that same unpredictability filled him with unease.
That, perhaps, was the true difference between games and life.
In a game, you could always Save/Load. If things went wrong, you could restart.
Reality offered no such mercy.
Just then, a sharp slap on his desk snapped him out of his thoughts.
He blinked and turned his head.
A bright, cheerful face smiled down at him — full of admiration.
To his mild surprise, it wasn't Fujiwara Chika.
It was Hayasaka Ai.
"Hara-kun, you're amazing," she said, her ocean-blue eyes glimmering like starlight. "Did you know? You ranked first in the entire year!"
Hara Kei said nothing. He tilted his head slightly, watching her with unreadable calm.
Under that steady gaze, Hayasaka's brilliant smile faltered for a split second, but she pressed on.
"I totally bombed this time," she admitted with a sheepish laugh. "Barely made it to the middle ranks."
She clasped her hands together, flashing a look so adorably pleading that most boys would have melted on the spot.
"So… could you maybe share your study methods with me? You know, help out your poor struggling classmate?"
"No."
The answer came instantly, without the slightest hesitation.
Even though she'd half expected it, the blunt rejection still made her smile stiffen.
Seeing that Hara Kei looked ready to end the conversation right then and there, Hayasaka quickly leaned forward again, her tone bright and enticing.
"Of course, I wouldn't ask for free. I'll trade you something you're definitely interested in."